A luxury cruise line failed a health inspection after attempting to hide trays of food from officials.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff boarded the Silversea Cruises' Silver Shadow in an Alaska port, ABC News reported.

The ship received an "unsatisfactory" grade of 82 (86 is satisfactory) after the CDC officials found 21 discrepancies.

The staff participated in an "organized effort" to hide trays of food from the health inspectors.

"Since the preliminary report was given to us, a full investigation has been carried out into the circumstances which led to this unsatisfactory result and a number of steps have been taken to ensure that the standards of food hygiene, in particular, are of the highest order," Silversea told ABC.

A CDC inspector poured concentrated chlorine over the trays once they were discovered to keep the staff from serving it to guests.

"The unannounced inspection on June 17 occurred at the end of the breakfast period where pots, pans and utensils were on working stations and items to return to the galleys were on trolleys as were stores from the fridges ready for use," Enzo Visone, Silversea Cruises' CEO, said in a statement

The CEO explained the staff tried to quickly remove trolleys of food and items that were not in the refrigerator when they heard staff was on board, instead of just continuing their meal service.

"It goes without saying that such practices are against company policy and should not have happened. We would also like to make clear that following the inspection of Silver Shadow, all food found in the cabins was destroyed and under no circumstances was improperly stored food served to any guests," Visone said.

The company posted that the individuals responsible for the failing grade had been let go.

Eleven out of 179 inspections of Silversea lines resulted in unsatisfactory marks.

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